Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess |
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Several summers ago we had one of those really bad thunderstorms - one where you're sure you will soon see a tornado buzzing up the main road through town. There were high winds, and tons of lightning - lots of down wires and several blown out transformers in the area. Amazingly, the stretch of Route 8 from the plaza that was home to the pizza shop to the Giant Eagle plaza about four miles north were the only places that had lights / electric. The phones were still working, though! Those are the times you're sorry, but glad, you're working. The panic of being THAT busy can induce an anxiety attack, but when it's all said and done; the money is pretty nice when folks order food out of necessity, rather than a pleasureful whim. As evening fell, it became increasingly more difficult to see the numbers on people's homes when they ordered - especially those who never found it necessary to clutter their mailboxes with their house numbers (hope the ambulance can see in the dark when you have an emergency!) Under normal circumstances, most folks are kind enough to leave a porch light on for you - I found it amusing that, without power, many people were resourceful enough to light several candles and leave them out on the porch. A few folks even sat on the front porch, waiting for the car with the "pizza sign" on the roof to drive slowly down the street, then waved flashlights at us to get our attention. I, of course, just had fun with it - when I approached the doors, I said, "Candle Light dinner for two for you tonight, Ma'am (or sir)". It was always good for a laugh, especially since many folks were a little frazzled without power for the night. No TV or computer or video game or radio, just candles and each other. I'll bet more folks sat on their porches that night than most nights... might have even met their neighbors !! Pizza shops can always count on being busy on days like that, when the power goes out, or days like Memorial Day, or Labor Day - BIG picnic days .... AND IT RAINS. Everyone seems to have the same idea - give up and order pizza. As a side note: I recall one such holiday, where sunshine had been predicted, and a severe and long-winded thunderstorm took over the afternoon. One woman was standing at the front door with an umberella, ran to the car to meet me, and escorted me in under the umberella. I was already drenched - her intention was most heart-warming, but ... a little too late. There really still are very creative, genuine and thoughtful people in the world! |